Richard Heart (Schueler) is a prominent cryptocurrency pundit and influencer, known for founding the Hex cryptocurrency and PulseChain network. However, the Helsinki resident’s reputation has been marred by a series of legal troubles. Heart faces allegations of tax evasion and assault in Finland and a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Legal Troubles in Finland
Heart is suspected of evading taxes between June 2, 2020, and April 2, 2024, and of committing assault between Feb. 16 and 17, 2021. His reported income is inconsistent with the estimates of the Finnish tax service.
SEC Lawsuit
In July 2023, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Heart, accusing him of issuing unregistered securities through his companies, which raised over $1 billion. The three coins in question are Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX. The SEC alleges that Heart misled investors by claiming these investments were for supporting free speech, while he used millions of dollars for personal luxury goods.
Heart's Hex offering promised investors many incentives and bonuses, with a claimed average annual return of 38% through a feature called "staking." The SEC alleges that the Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX offerings were securities offerings that were not registered with the Commission. Heart and PulseChain are accused of misappropriating at least $12.1 million of PulseChain investor funds for personal luxury purchases.
Social Media Presence and Controversies
Despite these allegations, Heart has maintained an active social media presence, posting short interviews of himself on his YouTube channel almost daily, even while evading Finnish and US authorities.
HEX has been controversial since its creation in 2019, with the SEC subpoenaing influencers promoting HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX in November 2022. A class-action suit is also underway against Binance.US and CoinMarketCap for price manipulation involving HEX after an appeals court partially reversed the case’s dismissal in August.
SEC's Demands
The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Heart and his companies. The next hearing in the case will be on Oct. 24.
This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.
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